Las Vegas Facts

Gambling capital, vacation paradise or premier business destination; these are all definitions of the city that never sleeps. Reality takes a hike when you enter the world of glittering casinos with their 24-hour gambling excitement. The scarcity of clocks adds to the fantasy of those taking time off from the real world. As a family vacation destination, the city offers the ultimate in entertainment for all ages. As a business destination, Las Vegas wins hands down with the volume of facilities and services available for either large conventions or small business get-togethers. Multitudes of upscale eateries are at your fingertips for a business lunch or dinner and after-hours entertainment is plentiful and diverse. Whether you are planning to move here, attend a business meeting, skydive, get married or just relax and enjoy, you will find Las Vegas to be a city like no other in the world.

The Strip: Las Vegas Boulevard

The fabled three-mile area holds more hotel rooms than any other city in the world. You will find the most famous and remarkable resorts such as Bellagio with its Italian Renaissance aura and Caesars Palace, the glory of Rome, Vegas-style. Old standbys include the Flamingo Hilton and the Mirage, with its white tigers and erupting volcanoes. See the Paris Las Vegas with outstanding replicas of the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and magnifique Parisian atmosphere and charm. Treasure Island offers daily live pirate battles, free of charge. The new Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is also an impressive hotel with a nice casino. At the "bottom" or south end of the strip, risen from the ashes of the Hacienda Hotel, now stands the magnificent Mandalay Bay with its tropical atmosphere and a pool with waves you can actually surf. At the top of the Strip, you will find the Stratosphere Tower visible from miles away. It is the highest free-standing building in the western half of the United States, with views from the top that are indescribable.

Downtown: Fremont Street

The original Las Vegas, where people hung out in the '30s and early '40s, is still thriving, but with a new face known as the Fremont Street Experience. Some tourists actually prefer this area to the Strip because room prices are generally lower, it's an easy walk from one casino to the next and it's reminiscent of the early, nostalgic days of Las Vegas. In addition, there are famous hotels such as The Plaza (formerly known as Union Plaza), overlooking Fremont Street, and the classic Golden Nugget. For nostalgia buffs, there is also the Golden Gate Hotel Casino, renovated to its earlier classic glory and appearance and still famous for the 99-cent shrimp cocktail.

Off-Strip

In recent years, hotels have sprouted up near the Strip, which are conveniently accessible by shuttle bus, taxi or car. Some of the better known of these are The Orleans, the Rio Suites and the Gold Coast on Flamingo. Further north on Sahara, is the Palace Station, the granddaddy of the Station Casinos with its original approach to fine buffet dining known as The Feast. To the east, there's the Las Vegas Hilton with the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center. Further south, between Flamingo and Tropicana, east of the Strip, you will find the "must see" Hard Rock Hotel and Casino next to the original Hard Rock Cafe, each with its own fantastic giant neon guitar at the entrance.

Boulder Strip

This has become something of a phenomenon in itself. The Boulder Highway was once a sprawl of small motels and businesses, leading from Fremont Street eventually out to the city of Henderson and beyond that to Boulder City and Boulder Dam, also known as Hoover Dam. But in recent years it's become the "Second Strip" with its proliferation of large, popular hotels and casinos including the Boulder Station Hotel and Casino, one of the first properties to offer child-care at a nominal fee for children of both guests and non-guests, and Sam's Town Hotel and Casino, which has become the high standard of western-theme resorts with its Mystic Falls Indoor Park.

North Las Vegas

The city of North Las Vegas has the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a major tourist attraction in itself, as well as Nellis Air Force Base, one of the strongest military bases in the United States and home to the flying Thunderbirds. As far as accommodations are concerned, there are several popular spots including The Fiesta and Texas Station Hotel and Casino. There is also the Santa Fe in northwest Las Vegas, which is unique for its Olympic-style Santa Fe Ice Arena.

Summerlin

Located in the far northwest section of the Las Vegas valley, Summerlin is a planned community with homes, shops, recreational activities, festivals and concerts. A wonderful accommodation in this area is the Suncoast Hotel and Casino.

Beyond Las Vegas

For day trips that are well worth your time, check out nearby Boulder City, Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam to the east and southeast. To the west, there is Red Rock Canyon and beyond that is Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.

1.    The legal age for gambling and drinking in Las Vegas is 21. No exceptions.

2.    Prostitution is not legal in Clark County, where Las Vegas is located. It is legal in the neighboring county of Nye, a short drive away.

3.    Interesting fact: The Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay is North America's only predator-based aquarium. It's also Nevada's first and only animal facility accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

4.    Las Vegas is about 280 miles from the South Rim of Arizona's Grand Canyon.

5.    Las Vegas is in the Mojave Desert, North America's smallest desert.

6.    Average rainfall in Las Vegas is about 4.5 inches.

7.    Fun fact: The Clark County Marriage License Bureau is open seven days a week, from 8:00 a.m. to midnight.

8.    In 2009, over 36 million visitors came to Las Vegas.

9.    Random fact: According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Las Vegas has 148,941 hotel rooms available.

10.    Gambling became legal in Las Vegas in 1931.

11.    The Stratosphere is the tallest observation tower west of the Mississippi River. Original plans called for it to be even taller.

12.    Weird fact: Boulder City, just outside of Las Vegas, is one of only two Las Vegas towns that do not allow gambling. (The other town is Panaca.)